New drug for type 2 diabetes is no better than older, cheaper treatments, says institute

The agency responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of drugs in Germany has for a second time concluded that linagliptin, a new drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, offers no added benefit over older, less expensive treatments already on the market.1

The agency, the Institut für Qualität und Wirtschaftlichkeit im Gesundheitswesen (Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Healthcare), widely known as IQWIG, is evaluating linagliptin as part of a complex process to determine the reimbursement price paid by Germany’s public health insurance system to drug companies to cover the cost of treatment with the drug.